Oct. 6, 2015, was the day after my birthday, but more importantly, it was the day the New York Yankees lost the wildcard game to the Houston Astros, 3-0. Their 162-game season ended in just one game. One game is ridiculous for the wildcard series, but that’s for another discussion.

First off, I would like to start by saying I was very wrong. My predictions about how the game would play out were poorer than the performance that the Carolina Panthers put out. The Denver Broncos' defense, not offense, dominated the Panthers to an impressive 24-10 victory. It appears that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will sail off into the sunset.

I don’t get it, how do people support Dallas Cowboys player Greg Hardy? He is a worthless piece of trash, an awful human being. This opinion is based on his arrest from one year and a half ago among other incidents and comments.

This past Tuesday, for the first time since the Golden State Warriors held the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, the NBA tipped off with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Chicago Bulls. Last year, in LeBron James's return home to Cleveland, his team came up two wins short of the championship.

We are more than a forth of the way through the NFL season and still have six unbeaten teams, the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals.

We had to wait an extra week this year, but that makes it all the more worth it as college football kicks off today.It is one of the most exciting sports, where the unexpected becomes a reality and catches our eyes every Saturday night. Fans are in for yet another crazy season in the second year of the College Football Playoff.

The mom plays an integral role in how a family is run from day to day. For the Rutgers softball team, senior left fielder Chandler Howard embraced the “Team Mom” role and helped the team with whatever they would need.“If you ask anybody on the team, they would tell you she is the team mom,” fellow senior center fielder Jackie Bates said.

Some teams never learn.Senior centerfielder Jackie Bates decided to teach LIU-Brooklyn a lesson not to pitch to a hitter who has already hit two home runs in the game.“I was expecting them to walk me,” Bates said, referring to when she came up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning.The Blackbirds didn’t, and she made them pay — hitting a grand slam and her third home run of the day.It was a homerun that just inched its way over the fence, but head coach Jay Nelson mentioned it made up for the one she was robbed of in New Mexico at the Lobo Classic earlier in the season.He went on to describe Bates performance as a “Reggie Jackson-like performance," referring to the Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer who belted three home runs in three pitches in a playoff game with the New York Yankees in 1977.“I was taking it one at bat at a time,” Bates said.

As the final moments in the regular season approach, the Rutgers softball team needs to heat up if it wishes to make its postseason dreams a reality.After being swept by Penn State this past weekend, the Scarlet Knights (26-17, 10-10) hope to get things back on track in the final week of the regular season starting with LIU-Brooklyn (18-27) followed by a red-hot Iona (14-22) on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.“Hopefully, we can take these losses and be able to bounce back from it so it would be nice to end the regular season on a good note,” said senior centerfielder Jackie Bates.

History continues to be made by the Rutgers softball team. Last week, senior left-hander Alyssa Landrith set the record for all-time wins in program history. This week, senior centerfielder Jackie Bates decided to etch her name in the record books as the all-time home runs leader with 35.“It feels good,” Bates said on the record.

It’s rivalry time! This weekend Rutgers (26-14, 10-6 B1G) travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State (24-24, 6-11 B1G).In the minds of most Rutgers students and alumni, when thinking of which team they dislike the most in the Big Ten, Penn State is first to come to mind and while the softball series won’t have the feel or atmosphere of the Big Ten football game on September 13, it carries huge dividends for the Scarlet Knights.A possible sweep would be huge and give Rutgers a better chance to improve their positioning and seeding in the Big Ten Championships.

During its first year in the Big Ten, the Rutgers softball team has made its mark.With two series remaining against Penn State and Wisconsin, the Scarlet Knights (26-14, 10-6) stand strong in the top half of the conference at fifth place. As the season has progressed, the team has had to adapt to its third conference in as many years, but its true style of play hasn't changed.“We came in here with the intention of making an impact on the conference this season, and I definitely think we have,” said senior left-hander Alyssa Landrith.